Ballooning across the curriculum

Includes bibliographical references.Motivation and interest are important factors in a student's ability to learn and retain information; this cross-curricular unit on hot air balloons not only motivates students to learn more, it also stimulates their interest and excitement. The hot air balloon is a fascinating topic for most people, adults and children alike; therefore it is an excellent topic to design a unit around. This unit is designed for the third or fourth grade classroom, but it can easily be adapted and used in any elementary setting. Each lesson in the unit is designed to include more than one discipline, and the unit as a whole is designed to include a wide variety of disciplines including: language arts, math, social studies, art, and physical education. This thesis is primarily a creative work based on firsthand experience in the field of hot air ballooning and the field of education. Each discipline was considered as it related to the hot air balloon, and reasonable objectives were developed. Once the lessons were designed and written, the project was field tested in the classroom where it was very well accepted. This unit was very successful in its goal of motivating and exciting the students as well as the teachers.B.S.Ed. (Bachelor of Science in Education

The Effects of Seated Position on Occupant Kinematics in Low-speed Rear-end Impacts

Copyright © 2005 SAE International Seventeen rear-end impacts with a nominal 8 km/hr change in velocity to five human subjects in four positions were conducted. The four seated positions consisted of the Normal position, with the torso against the seat back, looking straight ahead, hands on the steering wheel, and feet on the floor; the Torso Lean position, with the torso leaned forward approximately 10 degrees away from the seat back; the Head Flex position, with the head flexed forward approximately 20 degrees from normal; and the Head Flex / Torso Lean position, with the head flexed forward approximately 20 degrees from normal and the torso leaned forward approximately 10 degrees from normal position. Relative to the Normal position, it was found that in both positions involving the torso lean, the peak head acceleration for the subject’s head was reduced during the head-restraint impact. Further, the inertial acceleration of the head due to the forces on the neck, prior to the head rest impact, was somewhat higher for the two positions involving torso lean. Minor, transient, whiplash associated disorder (WAD) symptoms were noted. The nominal change in velocity used in this study appears to be of a reasonable magnitude to continue human subject out of position (OOP) testing

Studies of the Photo-transformation of Emerging Contaminants Adsorbed onto Plastic in an Aqueous Environment

The accumulation of plastic debris in the environment poses many threats to the environment and human health (1). One way these plastics can cause environmental damage is through the absorption and transfer of potentially toxic compounds to aquatic animals which in turn transfer these toxins to humans when consumed. These toxins are believed to alter basal metabolic rates and increase adipose tissue production in humans (2). Hydrophobic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) all accumulate on microplastics. The focus of our studies is to understand how the surface area and type of plastic influence the extent of photodegradation of emerging contaminants in aqueous solution when irradiated at 300 nm at different times. Triclosan and 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)nonane were selected as model pollutants for the irradiation studies because they are known to adsorb to plastic in aqueous environments (3). 1-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)nonane produces more decomposition products upon irradiation than triclosan, and therefore we reasoned that it might be a more sensitive probe of the effects of surface area and the polymer structure of the plastic than the triclosan

Myeloid Clusters Are Associated with a Pro-Metastatic Environment and Poor Prognosis in Smoking-Related Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: This study aimed to understand the role of myeloid cell clusters in uninvolved regional lymph nodes from early stage non-small cell lung cancer patients. Methods: Uninvolved regional lymph node sections from 67 patients with stage I–III resected non-small cell lung cancer were immunostained to detect myeloid clusters, STAT3 activity and occult metastasis. Anthracosis intensity, myeloid cluster infiltration associated with anthracosis and pSTAT3 level were scored and correlated with patient survival. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed with prognostic variables. Human macrophages were used for in vitro nicotine treatment. Results: $CD68^+$ myeloid clusters associated with anthracosis and with an immunosuppressive and metastasis-promoting phenotype and elevated overall STAT3 activity were observed in uninvolved lymph nodes. In patients with a smoking history, myeloid cluster score significantly correlated with anthracosis intensity and pSTAT3 level (P<0.01). Nicotine activated STAT3 in macrophages in long-term culture. $CD68^+$ myeloid clusters correlated and colocalized with occult metastasis. Myeloid cluster score was an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.049) and was associated with survival by Kaplan-Maier estimate in patients with a history of smoking (P = 0.055). The combination of myeloid cluster score with either lymph node stage or pSTAT3 level defined two populations with a significant difference in survival (P = 0.024 and P = 0.004, respectively). Conclusions: Myeloid clusters facilitate a pro-metastatic microenvironment in uninvolved regional lymph nodes and associate with occult metastasis in early stage non-small cell lung cancer. Myeloid cluster score is an independent prognostic factor for survival in patients with a history of smoking, and may present a novel method to inform therapy choices in the adjuvant setting. Further validation studies are warranted.Economic

Stromal Derived Factor-1 (SDF-1/CXCL12) and CXCR4 in renal cell carcinoma metastasis

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is characterized by organ-specific metastases. The chemokine stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1/CXCL12) and its receptor CXCR4 have been suggested to regulate organ-specific metastasis in various other cancers. On this basis, we hypothesized that the biological axis of CXCL12 via interaction with its receptor, CXCR4, is a major mechanism for RCC metastasis. We demonstrated that CXCR4 was significantly expressed on circulating cytokeratin+ RCC cells from patients with known metastatic RCC. We detected up-regulation of CXCR4 mRNA and protein levels on a human RCC cell line by either knockdown of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor protein, or incubating the cells under hypoxic conditions. The enhanced CXCR4 expression was mediated through the interaction of the Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α (HIF-1α) with the promoter region of the CXCR4 gene. Furthermore, the expression of CXCR4 on human RCC directly correlated with their metastatic ability in vivo in both heterotopic and orthotopic SCID mouse models of human RCC. Neutralization of CXCL12 in SCID mice abrogated metastasis of RCC to target organs expressing high levels of CXCL12; without altering tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, or tumor-associated angiogenesis. Therefore, our data suggest that the CXCL12/CXCR4 biological axis plays an important role in regulating the organ-specific metastasis of RCC

An Education Module for the Utilization of the Perioperative Quadratus Lumborum Block to Improve Postoperative Cesarean Section Pain

Background: Pain management for cesarean section patients postoperatively mainly involves oral analgesics, especially opioids. Further exploration is needed to discover the copious benefits of the quadratus lumborum (QL) block in obstetrics and create recommendations for its use. Objectives: The systematic review aimed to assess the most current randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding the efficacy of the QL block given for postoperative cesarean section pain management. Additionally, the results will be presented in an education module to Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). Data Sources: Investigators used CINAHL, MedLine, EMBASE, and Pubmed databases to answer the PICO question: In patients undergoing cesarean section (P), does the use of an ultrasound-guided perioperative quadratus lumborum block (I) compared to an ultrasound-guided perioperative transversus abdominus plane block (C) improve postoperative pain management (O)? Methodology: Ten RCTs were included in this systematic review and incorporated in the education module to CRNAs. All studies found the block group to have superior pain management and less opioid consumption. The six studies that compared the QL and TAP block found the QL block to be superior in both pain management and reducing opioid consumption. The education module containing a pre- and post-test and a voiced-over PowerPoint was presented to a group of CRNAs. Results: Statistical analysis using SPSS revealed a statistically significant knowledge increase from the pre- to post-test, and increased likelihood of recommending the QL block. Conclusions: The empirical evidence shows the QL block to provide a longer-lasting reduction in pain and opioid consumption. CRNA providers benefit from an educational module presenting evidence-based information on the newest regional block techniques

Usefulness of Circulating Tumor DNA in Identifying Somatic Mutations and Tracking Tumor Evolution in Patients With Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background The usefulness of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in detecting mutations and monitoring treatment response has not been well studied beyond a few actionable biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Research Question How does the usefulness of ctDNA analysis compare with that of solid tumor biopsy analysis in patients with NSCLC? Methods We retrospectively evaluated 370 adult patients with NSCLC treated at the City of Hope between November 2015 and August 2019 to assess the usefulness of ctDNA in mutation identification, survival, concordance with matched tissue samples in 32 genes, and tumor evolution. Results A total of 1,688 somatic mutations were detected in 473 ctDNA samples from 370 patients with NSCLC. Of the 473 samples, 177 showed at least one actionable mutation with currently available Food and Drug Administration-approved NSCLC therapies. MET and CDK6 amplifications co-occurred with BRAF amplifications (false discovery rate [FDR], \u3c 0.01), and gene-level mutations were mutually exclusive in KRAS and EGFR (FDR, 0.0009). Low cumulative percent ctDNA levels were associated with longer progression-free survival (hazard ratio [HR], 0.56; 95% CI, 0.37-0.85; P = .006). Overall survival was shorter in patients harboring BRAF mutations (HR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.24-4.6; P = .009), PIK3CA mutations (HR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.56-4.9; P \u3c .001) and KRAS mutations (HR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.30-4.1; P = .004). Gene-level concordance was 93.8%, whereas the positive concordance rate was 41.6%. More mutations in targetable genes were found in ctDNA than in tissue biopsy samples. Treatment response and tumor evolution over time were detected in repeated ctDNA samples. Interpretation Although ctDNA analysis exhibited similar usefulness to tissue biopsy analysis, more mutations in targetable genes were missed in tissue biopsy analyses. Therefore, the evaluation of ctDNA in conjunction with tissue biopsy samples may help to detect additional targetable mutations to improve clinical outcomes in advanced NSCLC